![]() The proposed aw would see LGBTQ Ghanaians face jail time, or be forced into so-called “conversion therapy” – a widely discredited practice debunked by much of the international medical and psychiatric communities. “So when he (Akufo-Addo) says the bill has been watered down, he doesn’t know what he is talking about.” George also implied that restrictions against “expressions, be it lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender are all still there. How a US group with links to the far-right may have influenced a crackdown on Ghana's LGBTQ community Hiding in a safe house in Accra, Ghana, Joe, a homophobic attack victim describes to CNN how a group of men kidnapped him and physically and mentally abused him for being gay. He added: “When the bill is laid before the House (of parliament), you will realize that the focus of the bill which has to do with voiding (gay) marriages, preventing them from adopting or fostering children, the clampdown on platforms and media houses that are going to do promotion and advocacy or push those materials still remain enforced.” The bill remains as tough and as rigid as it was,” George told local media in a televised interview. “The bill has not been substantially changed. However, one of the parliamentarians who introduced the bill, Samuel Nartey George, insists that the proposed law remains “rigid and tough.” In suggesting that the bill may end up being watered down in the amendment process, Akufo-Addo added that he was convinced the parliament will consider the sensitivity of the bill to human rights issues as well as the feelings of the Ghanaian population “and come out with a responsible response.” “My understanding … is that substantial elements of the bill have already been modified as a result of the intervention of the attorney general,” Akufo-Addo said. Francis Kokoroko/ReutersĪfter parliamentary deliberations, a final bill will be sent to the president for assent. US Vice President Kamala Harris and Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo address the press during her week-long trip to Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, in Accra, Ghana March 27, 2023. At the end of the process, I will come in,” the Ghanaian leader said. The attorney general has found it necessary to speak to the committee (the constitutional and legal committee of parliament) about it regarding the constitutionality … of several of its provisions. “The bill is going through the parliament. The bill was first introduced in parliament in August 2021. He pointed out that the proposed legislation, framed in the guise of “family values” – which seeks to introduce some of the harshest anti-LGBTQ laws on the African continent – was not legislation introduced by his government but a private members’ bill. Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo has said that “substantial elements” of a draconian anti-LGBTQ bill being considered by its parliament “have been modified” after an intervention by his government.Īkufo-Addo made the disclosure Monday at a joint press conference with US Vice-President Kamala Harris, who’s on a tour of the West African country.
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